Realtors Are in Crisis–and Home Buyers Could Be the Winners

[gnicholas]

> Consumer advocates hope that changes to NAR’s rules would lower commissions, making home purchases a little more affordable.

A little more affordable? We spent more on realtor fees than on anything we've ever bought in our lives, including cars. The cost is utterly divorced from the value provided, in many cases. We found the home we wanted to buy on our own, so the realtor didn't even need to take us around showing us places.

[8organicbits]

> conspired to keep commissions for home sales artificially high [1]

Huh, I thought the fees were high, but I wouldn't have guessed this.

[1] https://archive.ph/yzY4i

[jaxonpuggy]

Buyers do not pay Agent commissions. The home Seller pays both Seller and Buyer Agent commissions. Pls get your facts straight.

[ptvan]

The buyer provides the funds that allow the transaction to proceed, so yes, the buyer does pay for both commissions. Absent realtor fees, both the buyer and seller would net a better deal.

I did study for the real estate licenses in California and Nevada. The textbook for the course explicitly recommended that seller's agents tell the seller that the buyer pays the fees, and buyer's agents tell the buyer that the seller pays the fees.... to distract from this price-fixing scam.

[egl2021]

The "facts", huh? Like other transactions with fees to a third party, the form ("seller pays") is not the same as the transfer of value. The seller knows the commission will be paid and considers this in setting the price, but the buyer provides the money to meet the price. Absent the real estate commission, you would expect the price to end up somewhere between the seller's net and the buyer's gross. Other examples: taxes on cell phone bills, airline tickets, and W2 wages.

[jseliger]

https://archive.ph/t18iM